


Within These Pages

by orphan_account



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, Moon Powers Varian (Disney), Moondrop | Moonstone Opal (Disney), New Dream (Disney: Tangled), Post-Series, Sundrop - Freeform, magical stuff, saporians are crapbags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23883904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When Varian picks the book up, it feels heavy and valuable in his hands, and without even lifting the cover to reveal the ancient paper, he feels magic dance within its pages.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Quirin & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 109





	1. Chapter 1: Discover the Cover

**Author's Note:**

> I want to give a HUGE shout out to @bob_eclipsa_smith for taking the time to chat with me and ramble about this fandom and writing in general, it's really driven me through my writer's block and such. Thank you so much!
> 
> I also want to give a shout out to all of you for the feedback and opinions about my next story! I'm beyond grateful to have such patient readers who understand what I'm going through. I appreciate you all and hope you enjoy this story. 💖💖💖💖

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra's life has changed. With so much ground to cover and adventures to go on, Cass is surprised to find herself wandering back to a familiar mound of rubble.

The moon was full and ever-so watchful over the dark and silent forest, illuminating the dagger-like pines in an eerie gray glow. Amongst the dense trees soared a round hazel bird of prey, its wings are but a blur as it expertly maneuvered through the low lying branches of the mysterious wood. 

It's wing beats only silence upon finding its owner's awaiting shoulder, and with the grace of a swan, perches there with a soft hoot. 

"What are you doing here?" Cassandra whispered in surprise, eyes wide in disbelief. "Didn't know I _had_ to have an escort to be able to leave camp." She gave him a playful tug on his beak before her eyes returned to the sight before her. Her smile faltered. 

Owl, seemingly noticed her shift in behavior, cocked his head to the side and looked at her with large, round eyes. When she doesn't look his way, he let's out a curious hoot, and an indignant flap of his wings.

Cassandra blinked before sighing. "Nothing gets past you, does it?" She asked, and just as she expected, the bird puffed out his chest proudly. She shut her eyes and exhaled deeply before she spoke again. "Its just..." she began, and already she regrets it. "No matter how hard I try to leave this place behind. I always find myself..." her gray gaze landed on the rubble of the ancient cottage and her lungs tighten. "..coming back.."

Without another word, she stepped forward, heart pounding against her chest as she approached the dilapidated home. 

_Her_ home.

_No._

Cass shook herself. Despite knowing her earliest memories were once within these walls, she couldn't bring herself to say it was her home. A house she lived in, yes, but a _home?_

"Never again," she breathed, and Owl looked at her with saddened interest. Without any more hesitation, Cass pressed on, biting her lip as patterned chunks of stone and rock came into view. She began to recognize more personal items within the wreckage, and for a moment she halted and debated turning back. 

But in less than a second of stopping, Cass had already regained herself, and began to further investigate what remained of the house of her childhood. Her hardened gaze landed on a large wooden beam that lay atop a crushed mirror frame, and just beneath that was a pond of glass shards that sparkled in the moonlight. Cassandra's lips pulled taut but she said nothing. Owl cooed gently in her ear, but she ignored. She let out another shaky breath. 

She nimbly stepped over the wooden joist, grimacing as glass crunched underfoot. Her heart suddenly leapt into her throat when she noticed a familiar piece of furniture toppled over on its side, surrounded almost entirely by what remained of the walls of the cottage. It's mahogany wooden surface was now coated in dirt and muck, and upon closer inspection, Cass could make out dozens of harsh scratches and chips along it's edge. 

"I remember this," she said aloud, and Owl perked up from his place on her shoulder. Her gloved hand somehow found its place on the decorative desk's side, and she absentmindedly ran an open palm against it's surface, watching blankly as she swiped a layer of dust away to reveal the lively red tone she grew to know. "This desk was moth--Gothel's." Her face fell and her gaze flickered down. "She always told me I didn't clean it well enough..."

Owl's bright yellow eyes shut sympathetically and he rubbed against her cheek in support. Cassandra glanced back at him and gave him a tiny smile. 

"Thanks," she managed, her face looking flushed as she held the emotion down. She quickly ran a hand through her hair in preparation to leave, when the glint of something within the work table caught her eye. 

Completely driven by her growing curiosity, Cassandra crouched down and peered into one of the drawers that was thrown open from the cottage's collapse. Sticking just barely out of the drawer rested a withered book, its spine facing Cass and glinting under the moonlight hauntingly. 

"What's this?" She mumbled, and exchanged a owlish look with her feathered companion before proceeding. Carefully, she tugged the weighty tome out of the ajarred slot and examined its cover, which was thickly coated in a blanket of dust. Its outside was surprisingly durable and made out of some sort of leather, and even with her hands gloved, Cass could practically feel its age through her fingertips. 

Holding it shut, was a strange lock mechanism, and Cassandra realized that its metal seal was made of a sort of brass that would be no trouble to pry apart if she really wanted to see what was inside. 

With no light save for the full moon above, Cass found herself ablaze with annoyance as she fiddled with the lock. The fastener had a combination of sorts, with three icons depicted on each pin tumbler. Just as she made a move for her dagger however, a certain symbol caught her eye. 

The 3 coded combination portrayed the iconic sun symbol of Corona. Cassandra also noticed a teeny, _tiny_ music box like compartment no wider than her thumb placed adjacent to the pin tumblers, and a twinge of emotion seized her throat with icy claws. 

This book _screamed_ Gothel. 

Cass bit her lip and with the tip of her thumb, flicked the first pin tumbler to reveal another subtle image. 

A flower. 

Cassandra squinted.

But not just any flower. The _Sundrop_ flower.

A wave of apprehension swept over her, but she didn't show it. Instead, she gave the pin tumbler another spin, revealing an almost identical sun symbol, only this time, the sun was without its rays. Cass also noted that this sun image had a reflective surface that gleamed magnificently in the moonlight, where as the other sun donning rays, was dull. 

"This is some kind of puzzle, Owl," Cassandra concluded, mind a whirl of thoughts as she studied the images. "The Sundrop flower and two suns..." 

Owl's feather brows rose in confusion as he abandoned his place on her shoulder to get a better look at the strange contraption. 

"Rapunzel would've been good at this," Cassandra groaned after drawing a blank. "She always liked solving these stupid little riddles." 

Despite herself, Cass let out a huff and studied the icons once more. Sure, she _could_ just whip out her blade and get to work destroying the lock, but something inside just kept her from doing so. And everytime her interest waned in the combination and the urge to give up surged, she'd glance at the tiny music box. 

Gothel had given her a music box once. Not out of love, she came to realize, but a gift nonetheless. It was the only thing Cassandra had physically left of the woman who brought her into this world. And she cherished it, not out of love for the wicked woman, but as a reminder that her past wasn't a complete mystery. That Gothel was _indeed_ her mother. 

Cassandra flicked the first pin tumbler to reveal the Sundrop flower. "Flower," she hummed, and she sat in silence for a moment.

Suddenly, an image of Rapunzel blasted through her head, long hair cascading down her back and wrapped snuggly around Varian's injured head. 

_"Better?"_ _Rapunzel asked the young alchemist, and the boy lifted the towel of hair and glanced at his gloved hand, which still had a smudge of blood on it._

_"Oh yea--noooo!" He grimaced and looked away._

Cassandra jolted out of the memory. The healing incantation. "Flower, gleam and glow.." she whispered, and Owl let out a curious hoot, as if in question.

"Flower..!" Cassandra exclaimed, and her thumb immediately moved to the next pin tumbler. "Gleam..." she spun the tiny dial to depict the reflective sun without rays. "And glow," lastly, she clicked the image of the final sun emitting separate beams into place. 

Immediately following the placement of the pin tumblers, the lock gave out a satisfying click and unfastened. Before Cass could lift the cover however, a delicate twinkling sound met her ears, and she curiously peered at the music box. 

The tune consisted of 5 notes, but Cassandra recognized them nonetheless. _Flower, gleam and glow..._

Mystified, Cassandra opened the book, relishing the aged groan the spine made as she revealed the first page. The paper was yellowed and its edges looked to have gone through unspeakable damage, but the contents were legible. 

Cassandra inhaled, and began to read:

_This book and its studies belong to Hagatha Gothel_

Cassandra froze. Her mother's name was... _Hagatha?_ As if _that_ didn't make her sound any more wicked. With a skeptical expression, Cass continued to the next page. 

What stared back at her was a chaotic scribble of notes about the sundrop and moonstone, terms and such that she would've deemed unfamiliar if not had been for Varian's blathering and her knowledge of Rapunzel's past capabilities. She identified the healing incantation in its entirety and the decay incantation nearby, all in which were accompanied by eerie illustrations portraying their effects. 

There was so much information on the inner first pages, that Cass had to blink and tilt the book to get a better view of what she was reading. She could see notes with question marks clinging desperately to the ends of each hypothesis, as well as angry lines drawn through other strings of words. 

She turned the page, and then the next page, and the next page, until her head swam and eyes burned. Without actually reading the contents, Cass flipped the many pages loaded with writing from her mother's hand, until suddenly, a loose folded piece flew out at her before landing unceremoniously into her lap. 

Cassandra let out a startled gasp before taking the paper in her hands, her heart frozen in her chest. With Owl's bright yellow eyes intently watching just across from her, she began to unfold the page carefully. 

Cassandra couldn't keep her own brows from rising in confusion. The Demanitus Scroll. An almost _exact_ replica. Gothel must have harbored more knowledge for herself, and despite not knowing what all of the information meant at the time, stole what she could from Demanitus to translate later. Cassandra realized with a great amount of dread that Gothel most likely had done this not too long before her betrayal against Demanitus. 

Attached to the page, Cass noticed, was another small sheet of paper, with a tiny drawing of a crescent moon in the upper right hand corner of the page. Beneath it, was some sort of poem or incantation that Cass had admittedly never seen before. 

"Phases of the moon," she began in a low whisper, pausing as the breeze rustled the pines melodically. "Waning every night," the wind grew frigid, and Cassandra felt her skin prickle with a familiar sensation of uneasiness. "Fade within the dark," her heart slammed in her chest, "Rule within the light..."

As the words left her tongue, and silence claimed the clearing once more, Cass closed the book and rose to her feet. "Come on, Owl," she beckoned the bird with her forearm, and her friend wasted no time rejoining her as she turned away from the rubble. "If we're going to get to the bottom of this, we'll definitely need help from the former sundrop herself." She elaborated, making her way towards the Sun Kingdom. "It looks like there's more to the story after all."

Unbeknown to her however, miles away and within the walls of Corona, a single streak of blue hair glows faintly before dulling again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to be updating every Tuesday I guess? 
> 
> Again, I can't thank all of you enough for demonstrating such positive energy, not just within this site, but within this fandom too. 💜💜💜


	2. Chapter 2: Old Friend, New Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After her father gifts her with an ancient scroll formerly hidden away within Corona's secret vault, Rapunzel entrusts Varian with its translation. For the next couple of nights, Varian works by candlelight to reveal the scroll's secrets. Upon discussing his findings, however, he and Rapunzel are met by a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I'm hoping everyone is having an awesome week so far! Wanted to credit @bob_eclipsa_smith for helping me out with some grammar errors and such ^w^
> 
> Anyways, here's chapter 2! :)

It was late. _Really_ late. Varian knew this, but he continued to work anyways.

Inside the royal laboratory, a single flame flickered bravely atop a melted candlestick, single handedly casting light on the many scrolls and vials that littered the surface of an old wooden desk in the furthest corner of the room. 

The young alchemist shifted in his chair as he scrutinized a scroll with a scrunched nose and furrowed brow, seeming to be deeply invested in its contents. A chitter from some place near his feet swiftly jerked him from his thoughts, making his head snap up in surprise. The sound belonged to none other than Ruddiger, his pet raccoon and loyal friend. The masked creature let out another chirp once the boy broke his attention from his work, before patting at his pant leg with tiny paws. 

Varian let out a hum of defeat before pushing himself away from his work and turning himself in his chair to better face the needy coon. "What is it, Ruddy?" he asked, reaching down and nimbly scooping him up into his arms. 

Ruddiger let out a purr, followed by a string of chitters that were brisk and firm, almost scolding. Varian, having known the critter for some time, easily caught on. 

"I know, I know, it's late," he said, eyes naturally flitting up in amusement. "But listen! I'm on to something this time! That scroll has Demanitus' ancient language on it...along with some other stuff..." he trailed, attention claiming the scroll again. 

On the paper, he could clearly identify the ancient Demanitus language in the center page, but surrounding it was a mess of other characters he had yet to translate. It took some time, but Varian could conclude that they weren't of Demanitus, which doused him with a complicated mix of confusion and curiosity. What did the other text read? 

He also reminded himself that this scroll was old. _Really_ old. Varian had no doubt in his mind that its contents were regarding the legendary powers of the sundrop and moondrop, before they took on their physical forms as a flower and stone. And if the king himself had stowed it away in the all too secretive vault for decades, Varian was sure that its secrets were bound to be extraordinary.

Ruddiger clambered up onto his shoulders and patted at his face and Varian at last caved in. 

"Okay, okay!" he surrendered, and Ruddiger let out a triumphant chirp. "You win, _this_ time," he chuckled when the coon gave him a disapproving look. "I just can't sleep knowing there is so much of Demanitus' knowledge waiting to be known, Ruddiger." He abandoned his boots at the desk and slowly made his way over to the old cot on the other side of the lab.

As much as he loved his own bed in Old Corona, it was far too late to try and head home now. Varian deemed it best to just spend another night in the castle and head home tomorrow morning with perhaps a note from the princess excusing his absence. After all, Rapunzel had been the one to request his help on this new translation. He couldn't fail her by running home early. And despite being 16--almost _17_ now-- Varian _knew_ his father wasn't a fan of him being away for longer than he originally planned. 

"Don't worry," Varian assured Ruddiger as the coon gestured out the window at the rolling hills leading to Old Corona. "Dad might not be happy about me staying another night, but imagine how proud he'll be when he sees what I've got translated so far?" With a content sigh, Varian took off his gloves and placed them onto the small wooden nightstand to his left before drawing the lush comforter up over his frame. 

Ruddiger, seemingly satisfied with his boy turning in, slipped underneath his arm and cuddled against his chest with a purr. 

In response, Varian simply stroked the coon, half-lidded eyes gazing out the small window dreamily. The sky was completely clear of clouds and patterned with dazzling stars that winked at him from their place alongside the moon. It was a beautiful sight, he had to admit, and Varian debated the idea of sleeping altogether.

Despite the excitement and yearning to slip out of bed and return to the desk, Varian shut his eyes and reluctantly drifted off to sleep. 

⋆

"Okay, so this is what I've come up with so far--I mean, it isn't _everything_ , but it's something,” Varian began as he followed the princess down the corridor. He pulled the scroll out and with a gloved finger pointed at the scribble of text in the center. "It took some time but I've translated this portion of the text to be Demanitus’ work!"

"Really?" Rapunzel asked with a surprised smile, stopping and stepping to the side to allow a service cart to pass. "What's it say?"

Varian's heart swelled with pride but he didn't show it, instead covering it up with a nervous chuckle. "Well, this here in the center reads: 'without rays of the sun, the moon does not glow.'"

Rapunzel's brows rose. "Wow, how...eerie," she managed with an unsure giggle before she cleared her throat, prompting Varian to continue. 

"Yeah, right? The weirdest thing is, there's more, and I mean _a lot_ more written on this scroll. But, that's where we run into a little problem..." he trailed, an edge of defeat lining his voice. "The rest of the text depicts a different language altogether. It's definitely _not_ Demanitus, I can promise you that." 

If Varian could have rambled on about his theories involving the scroll's secrets, he would have, except a jovial voice pronouncing itself down the hallway cut off any spare hypothesis he had on the tip of his tongue. His thoughts waned when more voices followed.

"And down this corridor, you can hear the--"

"Nerdy rambling of everyone's favorite alchemist?"

"Eugene!"

"What? Oh c'mon, Lance, see? The girls are laughing!"

Eugene rounded the corner of the following hallway and stepped into the corridor with Lance on his heels.

"Well, I'm not," Varian huffed, crossing his arms and tucking the scroll into his vest with a look of distaste.

" _We_ are!" Following closely behind Lance was Angry and Catalina, faces reddened with mirth as they snickered in sync. Varian narrowed his eyes and pouted. 

"You know I'm kidding, Goggles," Eugene reassured him whilst giving his hair a quick ruffle. "Besides, I did say ' _everyone's favorite_ alchemist' so, _voila!_ Measly joke is counteracted with a compliment, everyone's happy." He gave Varian a hearty pat on the back before facing Rapunzel.

"Is it ‘pick on Varian day?’" she asked with an almost scolding tone, and Varian felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

Eugene shrugged playfully. "Well, ever since Cass _an_ dra left on her own little adventure, I've got no one left to tease." 

"Eugene!" 

"But-- _what?_ It's true!"

"Captain!"

Varian and the others spun around to face the direction of the new voice, their laughter and casual talk dissipating into a curious silence. 

Approaching them was the tall and lanky figure of Pete, his face muddled and hesitant as he scrambled hurriedly down the corridor with halberd in hand. "There's, there's a visitor," he panted as soon as he was close enough to the group that Varian could see the beads of sweat clinging to his brow. "Stan and Brutus are keepin' 'em at the north wall until further instructions," he continued, briefly gesturing behind himself before perching his vacant hand just above his brow in salute. 

Eugene's playful smirk drifted off of his face at the report. "A visitor, huh?" He exchanged a look of confusion with Pascal who, from his place on Rapunzel's shoulder, merely shrugged empty-handedly. 

Pete nodded. "Yessir!" he declared, puffing out his chest and giving the halberd's bottom a firm stab into the floor.

"Uhh, at ease," Eugene ordered awkwardly, and Varian had to suppress a snort as the captain slapped an embarrassed palm across his face.

With this new command, Pete immediately relaxed, his skinny frame assuming a less rigid posture and his expression melting off into one that was more goofy and like himself. "Oh, okay! Well, anyways, the visitor wanted to see you, Princess," he went on more excitedly, and Varian noticed Rapunzel's eyes light up with curiosity.

"Oh?" she said, genuine surprise edging her voice. "Well, who is it? Is it someone I know?"

"Sunshine, you know _a lot_ of people,” Eugene pointed out with a cheeky smile.

Pete's face contorted into something almost unreadable. "Well, um, I mean, yeah.." he mumbled, eyes flitting skyward as if in thought. "And by ' _someone I know_ ' do you mean some _one_ who some _how_ was able to wear a dress and wield a sword? Oh, and temporarily become the most feared villain since, well, you know," his eyes flicker down to Varian and the alchemist's shoulders stiffened. "..and stole the legendary moonstone and sent the kingdom into massive corrupti--"

"Cass?!" Rapunzel interrupted with an exuberant gasp, and Varian felt his own breath catch.

"Oh, _yippee,"_ Eugene mumbled, "Mention her for a second and boom, she just _has_ to show up."

Deaf to Eugene's grumbling, Pete faced the princess with a nod. "Yep! Said she needed to speak with you," at that, he leaned in close and shielded his lips with a gloved hand. " _...urgently."_

Despite the guard's attempt at keeping his voice down, Varian perked up anyways, curiosity bubbling up in his chest. It had been several months since he had last seen Cassandra, and when he had, her farewell had been pretty brief. What had brought her back to Corona after all of this time? 

_Something tells me it can’t be anything good,_ Varian thought, only managing to plaster a smile on his face when Rapunzel glanced at him briefly before returning her attention to the chatty guard. 

"Well, escort her in," Rapunzel said, and Pete nodded before disappearing back down the corridor. Once the man had left, the princess faced Varian and the others with a smile. "C'mon guys! We've got an old friend to visit!"

⋆

Cassandra was a very patient person for the most part. 

In fact, when she was stopped just outside Corona by Pete, Stan and some new recruit she admittedly had never seen before, she was sure to hold her tongue and listen to what they had to say.

Of course, the guards of the Sun kingdom were skeptical of her intentions, and Cass regrettably reminded herself that she did in fact try to kill every last one of them (well, except the rookie fellow who was regarding her with a terrified expression) during her phase of villainy. She had no doubt in her mind that despite Corona's seemingly forgiving nature, many of its citizens weren't as tolerant of her past.

It's something she'd grown to accept. 

After Pete had left Stan and the rookie, who's name she learned to be Brutus, guarding her every move, she did what she did best. She waited. 

Thankfully, it wasn't long before the scrawny guard returned, his head held high with a renewed sense of pride it seemed. As soon as he came within earshot he called out, "The princess requests she is escorted into the main library!"

Stan shifted, pushing himself upright with his own halberd before smiling casually. "Oh, okay!" He simply replied, before snapping into attention. "This way, Miss Cassandra," he said rather awkwardly before leading the way into Corona's walls. 

Brutus quickly hurried to flank Cass' other side, taking a humiliating amount of time to fall into step with his mustached comrade before finally holding himself like a guard. 

Cass cringed.

The beautiful Kingdom of the Sun came into view before long, striking Cassandra with a burning slap of guilt and nostalgia. Her eyes naturally found the heart of the kingdom, and she exhaled a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. 

The north tower was standing tall, looking as though it's repairs had only just been finished after all of the damage brought upon it. With wavering confidence, Cass began to ascend the very staircase she had destroyed months ago with the flick of her wrist, mind reeling as she thought of what to say.

 _Hey, Raps, I found a book that might have belonged to your kidnapper--I mean, my mother.. I mean, Gothel.._ Cass shook her head. No, that sounded lame. 

Pete reached for the door knob. 

_I found a book, it was Mother Gothel's.._

Brutus tapped his halberd anxiously.

_It has a new incantation in it... something to do with the moonstone.._

The doors flung open and she's met with a pair of bright green eyes. Despite her racing mind, Cass' lips only managed to quirk up awkwardly.

"Uh, hi."


	4. [author update]

hello fellow readers~☆ I understand it's been a long time since I've last updated and well...truth is.. I've sorta fallen out of this fandom. Before anyone leaps to conclusions, I will NEVER not like Tangled the series. I love it so much! ^w^

I'm just not encouraged to continue writing a plot for it anymore and I would hate to lead you all on in thinking there are chapters to come. Now, for the longest time, I pondered on deleting everything and starting anew with my new interests. But just seeing how some of my writing has impacted you all, especially "Your Father Would Be Proud" has made me decide to keep my account up despite my shift in different fandoms.

So, what's expected in the future here? Well, I'm honestly not sure myself, but I have begun working on a fic for a different fandom and it's the first bit of writing I've done in quite some time tbh. I've been very discouraged lately so writing has become less and less of a hobby and more of a chore for my creative mind, haha!

Anyways, I love everyone who's ever supported me and although you may not be interested in what's to come here, I'm just glad you enjoyed what I've had here! Hope to see you again!

-Van


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